[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2107 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2107

 To amend the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to improve 
  the quality of visitor services provided by Federal land management 
  agencies through an incentive-based recreation fee program, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 25, 1995

  Mr. Hansen introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to improve 
  the quality of visitor services provided by Federal land management 
  agencies through an incentive-based recreation fee program, and for 
                            other purposes.
    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Visitor Services Improvement and 
Outdoor Legacy Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to improve the overall quality of the 
visitor recreation experience on Federal lands through an innovative 
and incentive-based recreation fee program combined with an 
appropriation targeted to meet the increasing demand for recreational 
use of the Federal lands.

SEC. 3. REPEAL OF EXISTING RECREATION FEE PROGRAM AND ESTABLISHMENT OF 
              NEW RECREATION FEE PROGRAM.

    Section 4 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 
U.S.C. 460l-6a) is amended to read as follows:

                        ``recreation fee program

    ``Sec. 4. (a) Program Goals and Policies.--
            ``(1) Congressional goals.--It is the policy of Congress 
        that the Federal land management agencies develop and implement 
        high quality recreation programs adequate to meet the needs of 
        the American people. In order to accomplish this goal, the 
        agencies shall establish recreation fee programs designed to 
        generate 75 percent of the annual cost of providing visitor 
        recreational programs for each agency.
            ``(2) Administrative policies.--The administering 
        Secretaries jointly shall issue an integrated and coherent 
        policy for the establishment and collection of recreation fees 
        under this section. Such policy shall--
                    ``(A) permit flexibility with regard to the amounts 
                charged;
                    ``(B) provide for maximization of the number of 
                persons who pay fees to ensure that fees remain at the 
                lowest possible level;
                    ``(C) provide that comparable fees be charged by 
                the several Federal agencies for comparable services 
                and facilities;
                    ``(D) provide for the establishment of fees in a 
                manner which is equitable among user groups and 
                accounts for other non-Federal nonrecreational fees (if 
                any) which are paid by user groups and which are used 
                on Federal lands;
                    ``(E) define administrative overhead and specify 
                accounting procedures to ensure that administrative 
                overhead is not included in the cost of recreational 
                services provided; and
                    ``(F) provide for a uniform procedure for 
                accounting for fees collected under this section.
    ``(b) Definitions.--For the purposes of this section:
            ``(1) Administering secretaries.--The term `administering 
        Secretaries' means--
                    ``(A) the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to 
                the Forest Service; and
                    ``(B) the Secretary of the Interior with respect to 
                the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, 
                United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of 
                Reclamation.
            ``(2) Agency.--The term ``agency'' means an agency referred 
        to in paragraph (1) (A) or (B).
            ``(3) Area.--The term `area' means an administrative area 
        managed by an agency, such as a unit of the National Park 
        System, a national forest, a national wildlife refuge, and a 
        project area with respect to the Bureau of Reclamation.
            ``(4) Area of concentrated public use.--The term `area of 
        concentrated public use' means an area which--
                    ``(A) provides developed facilities and services 
                necessary to accommodate public use;
                    ``(B) contains at least one major visitor 
                attraction including (but not limited to) a lake, 
                river, historical site, or geologic feature; and
                    ``(C) provides public access such that admission 
                fees can be cost-effectively collected.
            ``(5) Recreation fees.--The term `recreation fees' means 
        admission fees, recreational services fees, and concession 
        fees.
            ``(6) Recreational services.--The term `recreational 
        services' means services directly associated with management of 
        recreation visitors to Federal lands, including (but not 
        limited to) such programs as maintenance of facilities which 
        serve primarily visitor recreation use such as campgrounds, 
        scenic roads, trails, visitor centers and picnic areas, public 
        information and interpretation, wildlife habitat enhancement 
        directly related to public use such as stream improvement to 
        improve fishing or activities to facilitate watchable wildlife 
        programs, and public safety programs related to visitor use, 
        but not including administrative overhead.
            ``(7) Transition period.--The term `transition period' 
        means the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
        section and terminating at the end of the sixth complete fiscal 
        year beginning after such date.
            ``(8) Pre-1995 authorized recreation receipts.--The term 
        `pre-1995 authorized recreation receipts' means the receipts 
        that would have been received for a fiscal year from fees 
        collected under section 4 of the Land and Water Conservation 
        Fund Act of 1965 as such section was in effect on the day 
        before the date of the enactment of the Visitor Services 
        Improvement and Outdoor Legacy Act of 1995.
            ``(9) Incentive-based fee receipts.--The term `incentive-
        based fee receipts' means receipts for a fiscal year from 
        recreation fees collected under this section.
            ``(10) Transition recreation fee receipts.--The term 
        `transition recreation fee receipts' means incentive-based fee 
        receipts less pre-1995 authorized recreation receipts.
    ``(c) Establishment.--
            ``(1) In general.--In order to improve the quality of the 
        recreation experience on Federal lands, the administering 
        Secretaries shall establish and implement a fee program in 
        accordance with this section which provides for substantial 
        recovery of the costs of recreational services provided through 
        fees paid by the public, including admission fees, recreation 
        use fees, and concession fees. In carrying out such program, 
        the administering Secretaries are authorized and directed to 
        collect admission fees in accordance with this section at areas 
        of concentrated public use and at other areas designated by Act 
        of Congress, including (but not limited to) wilderness areas, 
        areas designated as components of the wild and scenic rivers 
        system, and national conservation areas. In addition, the 
        administering Secretaries shall collect fees under this section 
        for recreational services. The administering Secretary shall 
        consider the effectiveness of the manager of areas in carrying 
        out this section in conducting annual performance review of the 
        manager.
            ``(2) Factors in establishing amount of fees.--All fees 
        established pursuant to this section shall be fair and 
        equitable, taking into consideration the direct and indirect 
        cost to the Government, the benefits to the recipient, the 
        public policy or interest served, the comparable recreation 
        fees charged by other public and private entities, the economic 
        and administrative feasibility of fee collection, convenience 
        to the recreation user and other pertinent factors.
            ``(3) Notice of fees.--Clear notice that a fee has been 
        established pursuant to this section, and the amount thereof, 
        shall be prominently posted at appropriate locations in each 
        area and shall be included in agency publications distributed 
        with respect to such areas.
            ``(4) Adjustments.--The administering Secretaries are 
        authorized to make adjustments in the fees authorized in 
        subsection (d), taking into account the factors specified in 
        paragraph (2). No such adjustment shall become effective prior 
        to 60 days from the date notification of such proposed 
        adjustment is received by the appropriate congressional 
        committees. All proposals for adjustments in fees or 
        establishment of new fee collection sites (other than 
        demonstration areas under subsection (m)) developed subsequent 
        to the date of enactment of this section shall be included in 
        the annual report required by subsection (l).
            ``(5) Target recreation revenue goals.--After the 
        transition period, the administering Secretary shall annually 
        develop a target recreation revenue goal for each area 
        administered by the Secretary which reflects the estimated 
        ability for such area to collect recreation fees. The 
        administering Secretary shall develop that target based on 
        historical data, projected visitation, and such other data as 
        are available to the Secretary.
    ``(d) Recreation Fees.--
            ``(1) Single admission visits.--Reasonable admission fees 
        for a single visit to any designated
         area shall be established by the administering Secretary. A 
`single visit' means a more or less continuous stay within a designated 
area. Payment of a single visit admission fee shall authorize exits 
from and reentries to a single designated area for a period of from one 
to fifteen days, such period to be defined for each designated area by 
the administering Secretary based upon a determination of the period of 
time reasonably and ordinarily necessary for such a single visit. The 
single visit entrance fee for private parties and commercial tours 
shall be set by the administering Secretaries and may be adjusted, 
taking into account the factors specified in subsection (c)(2). The 
Secretaries shall ensure that the admission fee schedule developed 
provides economic incentives for use of alternative modes of mass 
transportation at areas experiencing high levels of automobile traffic.
            ``(2) Annual admission permits: golden eagle passport.--(A) 
        For admission into any area at which fees are charged pursuant 
        to this section, an admission permit, to be known as the 
        `Golden Eagle Passport', valid for the 12-month period 
        beginning on the date of sale, shall be available. The fee for 
        the passport shall be set jointly by the administering 
        Secretaries, taking into account the factors specified in 
        subsection (c)(2). The permittee and all persons accompanying 
        the permittee in a single, private, noncommercial vehicle, or 
        alternatively, the permittee and the permittee's spouse, 
        children, and parents accompanying the permittee where entry to 
        the area is by any means other than a private noncommercial 
        vehicle, shall be entitled to general admission into any area 
        designated pursuant to this section. The permit shall be 
        nontransferable, and the unlawful use thereof shall be 
        punishable in accordance with regulations established pursuant 
        to subsection (g). The permit shall be available for purchase 
        at any such designated area.
            ``(B) The administering Secretaries may authorize units of 
        State or local government, organizations, businesses, and 
        nonprofit entities to sell and collect fees for the Golden 
        Eagle Passport, subject to such conditions as the Secretaries 
        may jointly prescribe. The Secretaries shall develop detailed 
        guidelines for promotional advertising of non-Federal passport 
        sales and monitor compliance with those guidelines. The 
        Secretaries may authorize the seller or sellers to maintain an 
        inventory of Golden Eagle Passports for periods not to exceed 
        six months and to withhold amounts up to, but not exceeding, 
        eight percent of the gross fees collected from Golden Eagle 
        Passport sales as reimbursement for actual expenses of the 
        sales.
            ``(3) Annual geographic admission permits.--For admission 
        into a specific designated unit or into several specific units 
        located in a particular geographic area at which fees are 
        charged pursuant to this section, the administering Secretary 
        or Secretaries are authorized to make available an annual 
        admission permit. The permit shall convey the privileges of, 
        and shall be subject to the same terms and conditions as, the 
        Golden Eagle Passport, except that it shall be valid only for 
        admission into the specific units indicated at the time of 
        purchase.
            ``(4) Recreation use fees.--Each agency developing, 
        administering, providing, or furnishing at Federal expense 
        services for such activities as camping, including back country 
        camping under permit, swimming sites, boat launch facilities, 
        managed parking lots, motorized recreation use and other 
        recreation uses, shall, in accordance with this section provide 
        for the collection of recreation use fees at the place of use 
        or any reasonably convenient location.
    ``(e) Establishment of Accounts and Deposit of Recreation Fees.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--The administering Secretary shall 
        establish a special account in the Treasury for each agency 
        which collects recreation fees under this section. Within each 
        such account, the administering Secretary shall separately 
        account for receipts and disbursements of funds for each area.
            ``(2) Deposits.--(A) The administering Secretary shall 
        deposit in each agency account--
                    ``(i) during each fiscal year of the transition 
                period an amount equal to the transition recreation fee 
                receipts collected and amounts appropriated under 
                subsection (o)(2) (relating to pre-1995 recreation fee 
                receipts); and
                    ``(ii) after the transition period, an amount equal 
                to all incentive-based fee receipts collected.
            ``(B) During the transition period, the administering 
        Secretary shall allocate to an area the amount of transition 
        recreation fee receipts collected with respect to the area and 
        amounts appropriated for the area under subsection (o)(2) 
        (relating to pre-1995 recreation fee receipts).
            ``(C) Within such agency account for fiscal years following 
        the transition period, the administering Secretary shall credit 
        to an area--
                    ``(i) an amount up to 75 percent of the total 
                Federal costs of providing recreational services at 
                that area; and
                    ``(ii) one-third of the amount of recreation fees 
                collected from the area which exceeds the target 
                recreation revenue goal specified in subsection (c)(5) 
                for that area.
            ``(D) All funds from the sale of the Golden Eagle Passport 
        shall be divided among the agencies based on a formula to be 
        developed by the administering Secretaries. Such formula shall 
        consider such factors as total recreation fees collected by the 
        agency and total recreation use provided by the agency. Funds 
        from the sale of the Golden Eagle Passport shall be deposited 
        as recreation fees collected into the appropriate agency 
        account.
            ``(E) All funds from the sale of geographic admission 
        permits under subsection (d)(3) shall be divided among the 
        areas for which such permits were issued on the basis of 
        visitor use and shall be deposited as recreation fees collected 
        from areas into the appropriate agency account.
            ``(3) Use of funds.--Funds deposited into accounts under 
        this subsection may only be used to fund programs in direct 
        support of recreational services on Federal lands.
            ``(4) Availability.--Funds deposited into accounts 
        established pursuant to this section shall be available without 
        further appropriation and shall be expended in the same manner 
        as funds allocated by Congress to that agency for similar 
        purposes.
    ``(f) Accountability of Funding.--The Comptroller General of the 
United States shall conduct periodic audits to ensure that amounts 
received under this section are fully accounted for and not diverted to 
administrative overhead or other programs not directly related to 
visitor recreational services.
    ``(g) Enforcement of Fee Collection Policies.--In accordance with 
the provisions of this section, the administering Secretaries may 
prescribe rules and regulations for areas under their administration 
for the collection of any fee established pursuant to this section. 
Persons authorized by the administering Secretaries to enforce any such 
rules or regulations issued under this section may, within areas under 
the administration or authority of such administering Secretary and 
with or, if the offense is committed in his presence, without a 
warrant, arrest any person who violates such rules and regulations. Any 
person so arrested may be tried and sentenced by the United States 
magistrate specifically designated for that purpose by the court by 
which he was appointed, in the same manner and subject to the same 
conditions as provided in subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) of section 
3401 of title 18, United States Code. Any violations of the rules and 
regulations issued under this subsection shall be punishable by a fine 
as provided by law.
    ``(h) Non-Federal Reservations.--The administering Secretary, under 
such terms and conditions as he deems appropriate, may contract with 
any public or private entity to provide visitor reservation services. 
Any such contract may provide that the contractor shall be permitted to 
deduct a commission to be fixed by the agency head from the amount 
charged the public for providing such services and to remit the net 
proceeds therefrom to the contracting agency.
    ``(i) Use of Volunteers For Fee Collection.--When authorized by the 
administering Secretary, volunteers at designated areas may collect 
fees authorized or established pursuant to this section. The 
administering Secretary shall ensure that such volunteers have adequate 
training for this purpose. The administering Secretary shall require a 
surety bond for any such volunteer performing services under this 
subsection. Funds available to the collecting agency may be used to 
cover the cost of any such surety bond.
    ``(j) Impact of Recreational Fees on Low-Income Individuals.--The 
administering Secretaries shall jointly conduct a study to determine 
the effect on low-income individuals of user and admission fees imposed 
pursuant to this section by the respective Secretary and shall jointly 
submit recommendations to the Congress regarding actions to be taken to 
resolve adverse impacts, if any, on such individuals. Such 
recommendations shall be included as part of the four-year report 
required to be submitted under subsection (m)(1).
    ``(k) Limitations on Fees.--
            ``(1) Activities not subject to fees.--Nothing in this 
        section shall be construed to--
                    ``(A) authorize Federal hunting or fishing licenses 
                or fees or charges for commercial or other activities 
                not related to recreation;
                    ``(B) affect any rights or authority of the States 
                with respect to fish and wildlife; or
                    ``(C) authorize the collection of fees from any 
                person who has a right of access for hunting or fishing 
                privileges under a specific provision of law or treaty.
            ``(2) Through travel.--No admission fee shall be charged 
        for travel by private, noncommercial vehicle over any national 
        parkway or any road or highway established as a part of the 
        National Federal Aid System, as defined in section 101, title 
        23, United States Code, which is commonly used by the public as 
        a means of travel between two places either or both of which 
        are outside the area. Nor shall any fee be charged for travel 
        by private, noncommercial vehicle over any road or highway to 
        any land in which such person has any property right if such 
        land is within any such designated area.
            ``(3) Persons conducting governmental business.--No 
        admission fee shall be charged to persons engaged in the 
        conduct of official Federal, State or local government business 
        or to others authorized by the administering Secretary to 
        conduct administrative duties within the area.
            ``(4) Lifetime admission permits.--No admission fee shall 
        be charged under this section to any person who possesses a 
        lifetime admission permit issued under section 4(a) (4) or (5) 
        of this Act as in effect on the day before the date of the 
        enactment of the Visitor Services Improvement and Outdoor 
        Legacy Act of 1995.
    ``(l) Annual Reporting Requirements.--Reports indicating the number 
and location of fee collection areas, visitation information, fees 
collected, and other pertinent data, shall be coordinated and compiled 
by the administering Secretaries and transmitted to the Committee on 
Resources of the United States House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate. 
These reports shall be transmitted annually not later than the 
submission of the President's budget under section 1105 of title 31, 
United States Code, and shall include any recommendations which the 
Secretaries may have with respect to improving the recreation fee 
program.
    ``(m) Transition to Full Implementation.--
            ``(1) Demonstration areas.--In implementing the recreation 
        fee program under this section, the administering Secretaries 
        shall initially implement demonstration programs at no fewer 
        than 10, but no greater than 30 areas managed by each agency. 
        At these demonstration areas, the administering Secretaries are 
        encouraged to examine a full range of recreation fees and fee 
        collection strategies such as vendor sales. Within four years 
        after the date of enactment of this section, the administering 
        Secretaries shall submit a report to Congress on the result of 
        these demonstration projects. In addition, the administering 
        Secretary shall report on the ability of each agency to meet 
        the 75 percent cost recovery goal. If the administering 
        Secretary determines that he cannot meet the overall cost 
        recovery goals of this section for a particular agency, he 
        shall report the likely level of potential cost recovery from 
        the recreation fee program for that agency.
            ``(2) New interim fee schedule.--Not later than one year 
        after the date of the enactment of this section, the 
        administering Secretaries shall submit to Congress an interim 
        schedule of recreation fees for areas not included in a 
        demonstration program under paragraph (1). Such fee schedule 
        may not take effect until 60 days after the date on which it is 
        submitted to Congress. Before such schedule takes effect, 
        recreation fees at areas administered by the agencies shall be 
        determined in accordance section 4 of this Act as in effect on 
        the day before the date of the enactment of the Visitor 
        Services Improvement and Outdoor Legacy Act of 1995.
            ``(3) Implementation report.--Not later than 180 days 
        before the end of the transition period, the administering 
        Secretaries shall jointly submit a report to Congress on the 
        implementation of this section. Such report shall include the 
        policy statement developed under subsection (a)(2), the fees to 
        be charged under this section, and the target recreation 
        revenue goals for each area subject to this section. Such fees 
        and target recreation revenue goals shall be effective 
        beginning with the fiscal year beginning after the transition 
        period unless Congress enacts a joint resolution before the 
        beginning of such fiscal year specifying otherwise.
    ``(n) Exemption of Fees.--Amounts collected under this section 
shall not be taken into account for the purposes of the Act of May 23, 
1908, and the Act of March 1, 1911 (16 U.S.C. 500), the Act of March 4, 
1913 (16 U.S.C. 501), the Act of July 22, 1937 (7 U.S.C. 1012), the Act 
of August 8, 1937, and the Act of May 24, 1939 (43 U.S.C. 1181f et 
seq.), the Act of June 14, 1926 (43 U.S.C. 869-4), chapter 69 of title 
31, United States Code, section 401 of the Act of June 15, 1935 (16 
U.S.C. 715s), the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 
U.S.C. 460l-1--4--460l-11), and any other provision of law relating to 
revenue allocation.
    ``(o) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) In general.--After the transition period, for each $3 
        in recreation fees collected by an agency pursuant to this 
        section during a fiscal year, there is appropriated $2 to that 
        agency for the succeeding fiscal year, of which not less than 
        25 percent or more than 50 percent shall be available to fund 
        the construction or rehabilitation of visitor facilities and 
        the remaining amount shall be available to provide the balance 
        of funding for annual visitor recreational services.
            ``(2) Transition period.--During the transition period, 
        there is authorized to be appropriated for a fiscal year 
        amounts which would have been appropriated for that fiscal year 
        under section 4 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 
        1965, as such section was in effect on the day before the date 
        of the enactment of the Visitor Services Improvement and 
        Outdoor Legacy Act of 1995.''.

SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

    The Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations 
Act, 1993 is amended by striking out the second proviso under the 
heading ``administrative provisions'' which is under the heading 
``National Park Service'' (related to recovery of costs associated with 
special use permits).
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HR 2107 IH----2